Brazilian Shrimp Soup

I am always looking for new soup recipes to try. I know it’s still the middle of the summer, but I find soup to be a wonderful meal year-round (we do have air conditioning, after all!) I loved this meal because it was a bit out of the ordinary from the things I usually make, and a welcome change. The soup is a tomato base thickened by the addition of rice and chopped veggies. Coconut milk is mixed in to lend a muted tropical flavor, and the cilantro adds an earthy brightness. Not only was this delicious, it was a fairly quick weeknight meal, and healthy too! All good things. This time I used smaller shrimp because that was all I had on hand. Next time I will either use larger shrimp, or not cut the smaller ones in half. Otherwise, this is fantastic and I can’t wait to have it again! I made a half batch which yielded about three servings, but next time I think I’ll make a full batch and have the leftovers for lunches.

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes.

02

Add the rice, red pepper flakes, salt, crushed tomatoes, and water to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until the rice is almost tender.

03

Stir in the coconut milk. Return the mixture to a simmer, then stir in the shrimp. Simmer just until the shrimp cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the pepper, lemon juice and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Source

You had me at “coconut milk.” It sounds like it would also be great with very little or no water, served thick over a bowl of rice. Heck, with more rice and cooked like a risotto! Ok, this ingredient combo sounds delicious, let’s leave it at that.

Kelsey

That looks yummy! My husband is not a huge fan of soup, but I might have to try this one!

I actually made this soup last night and oh my word was it EVER GOOD! My husband loved it too – the only thing was that it was quite hot outside so we had to jump in for a swim after- but really, there’s not problem with that! I loved every aspect of the soup – the only difference I did was put an orange pepper instead of red because that’s what I had on hand. Fantastic recipe!

I have a can of coconut milk in the pantry just screaming to be used in this soup recipe! I am definitely going to give it a try since I also have some fresh cilantro. I agree soup in summertime is just fine! Thanks!

Bev

I’m a year-round soup eater too. This sounds and looks so delicous I have bookmarked the recipe! mmmm

This looks really flavourful. I’m currently sweating in my apartment, so I’ll probably hold off on cooking something hot. But, I’ll definitely keep it in mind for when the humidity goes down.

Kristi

Just got done with dinner, and it was delicious! Don’t skimp on the water because you’ll need it for all of the stuff that is added. Definitely a keeper!

Debbie

I made this soup last night, was it ever delicious!!!!!! All three members of my family agree, it is 5 stars. Totally enjoy your blog, look forward to each new recipe. This is the first time I have ever commented on a blog! Keep up the great work.

marcie

Hi Annie,

I am a new-ish follower to your blog. It is a great resource! We just finished dinner and this soup was awesome! A great mix of flavors and pretty quick to prepare. I threw in a handful of corn too.

Thanks!

Wendy

Although I’ve seen this recipe on the site before it caught my eye on the sidebar again recently. Finally got around to making the soup tonight and it was amazing! Can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch the next couple of days.

Dani

I made this for my family and inlaws last nite and it was AWESOME!! My Mother In Law DOES NOT eat seafood so I had to scoop a little out for her before I added the shrimp…I had a leftover chicken breast in the fridge, so I cut that up and added it to hers in a sep. small pot, then added the shrimp to ours. She loved it as much as we did! This is def. going on our regular rotation! Thanks!

Sarah

I’m making this tonight for the second time in two weeks–it was a HUGE hit all around. As good the second or third night! My new favorite soup.

Katie

GREAT recipe! I made a couple changes- reduced the rice and water a little and added 1 tbs red curry paste when i was sauteing the vegetables, fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of crushed. It was delicious and my dh said it was his favorite soup!

I commented on this soup back when you first posted it and finally got around to trying it. Needless to say, I have way too many recipes in my queue!! Anyway, I adored it and so did my husband. So tropical and light. Thanks for sharing it!

Casey Dunne

Sounds a lot like Moqueca Baiana!!!! I will definitely have to make this for my neighbor’s Brasilian wife. She loves it when I attempt Brasilian food. B-)

Emma

I made this soup over the weekend (like you, I’m a soup fanatic regardless of the weather outside!), and it definitely did not disappoint. I found myself nearly licking the bowl after finishing it because the broth was just so delicious with its creamy coconut-tomato base and the bright punches brought by the lemon and cilantro. I used smaller shrimp (51-60 per pound) but I did not cut them in half; I found that to be perfect, so I’ll do the same next time.

Thanks so much for this blog, Annie. Because of the amount of care that you put into each of your published recipes, and because of the integrity with which you present them, this is easily the blog that I turn to the most whenever I need a reliable recipe that I know will turn out.

Debbie

I made this for dinner two weeks ago and am making it again tonight. It is so delicious! The flavors go together perfectly. I added more rice last time so that it was thicker -it was perfect. I’m adding fresh corn this time. Yum

Jessica S.Thibodeaux

I have been making this for a while and I adore it. The only difference I made to it is that I use jasmine rice with it and instead of tomatoes I use rotel to add a kick. It is a go to for me, a comfort food recipe.